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Congratulations to Roz for Rowing to Completion of Stage Two Across the Pacific Ocean

Roz Savaga made landfall on Tarawa, a small atoll in the Republic of Kiribati, after 104 days at sea and 3,158 miles rowed.  On May 24th in Honolulu, Hawaii, Roz set out on her endeavor to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean.  After setbacks and course adjustments she reached Tarawa on September 5th.

Add your words of congrats to Roz in ORI’s Congratulations for Pacific Ocean Well Rowed letter.

ABOUT ROZ SAVAGE

Roz Savage a British ocean rower and ocean champion, author, motivational speaker and environmental campaigner, who uses her trans-oceanic rowing voyages to inspire a movement towards sustainable living at both grassroots and global levels.

Roz first gained attention in 2005, when after 11 years as a management consultant, she embarked upon a new life of adventure by rowing solo across the Atlantic. Her unlikely transformation from office worker to ocean rower, described with humor and soul-baring honesty in her blogs, captivated and inspired a worldwide audience, transcending barriers of language, culture, color and creed. Roz continues to use her seafaring adventures to motivate others to take action on environmental issues and to face their own life challenges.

Roz is currently engaged in an epic effort to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. Her adventure consists of three stages, each with its own environmental message. In Summer 2008, Roz became the first woman in history to row solo from California to Hawaii. During her 2,700-mile journey, lasting 99 days, she encouraged people to cut back on their usage of disposable plastic bottles, cups and bags, thereby reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean.

Roz launched stage two of her Pacific Voyage on May 24th, 2009. Her journey will take her from Hawaii to Tuvalu, this time targeting climate change through her Pull Together initiative (described below). The third, and final, stage to Australia will take place in 2010. If successful, Roz will be the first woman in history to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. The Ocean River Institute, of Cambridge, MA, will be featuring Roz at a joint fundraiser for Roz and the organization on October 17, 2009.

Roz is an avid technology enthusiast and enjoys sharing her adventures through a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. She regularly blogs and records podcasts, delighting her audience and allowing them to vicariously share and experience her thrilling adventures.

2009’s MISSION

Pull Together is the theme for stage two of Roz Savage’s row across the Pacific Ocean. This year her environmental mission is to take action on CO2 levels by inspiring people to walk more and drive less.

This is an especially timely message—in December 2009, delegates from around the world will arrive in Copenhagen for the United Nations conference on climate change. Decisions made at this landmark summit will set the environmental agenda for the next 10 years which, according to experts, are the most crucial years in the history of humankind. Can we change our ways radically enough, and quickly enough, to avert global disaster?

Roz’s ethos is to focus on solutions rather than problems, and what’s needed right now is action. In consultation with distinguished environmentalists, government leaders and outreach specialists, Roz has conceived an initiative to tackle the issue at both grassroots and international levels.

Calling upon her supporters around the world to Pull Together, Roz is challenging them to match her 10,000 oar strokes each day with 10,000 steps – the minimum that doctors recommend for good heart health. It will take her about 100 days to row from Hawaii to Tuvalu, which equates to 1,000,000 oar strokes for Roz, or 1,000,000 steps for her supporters.

An easy way for people to track their steps is to use a pedometer. To take their involvement to the next level, each day supporters can upload their daily step count into the Pull Together widget. The online converter will show how many calories they’ve burned and how much CO2 they’ve saved, had they driven the same distance. Pulling Together is good for our bodies, and for the planet!